by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

ROUND ROCK, Texas – The quarterfinals are upon us today and there are plenty of intriguing matchups.

No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 1 Brigham Young, 5 p.m.
If you concede Liberty is the first, the Aztecs might be the second-best team the Cougars have seen all season. As is the nature of seeding, BYU is the more rested team after wiping out Michigan State while SDSU had their hands full in the typically-tough Nos. 8-9 contest. The Cougs are significant favorites, as you’d expect, but I don’t think this will be a walkover. San Diego State is legit.

BRACKETS: Division I | Division II

No. 7 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 2 Texas, 5 p.m.
The Gauchos have to weather the feeling out process with the Longhorns. Simon Fraser got down early and things just snowballed. UCSB can’t let that happen because they’re not built for comebacks. They need a grinder. The near-miss by Texas A&M in the LSA title game against Texas is still fresh in my mind.

No. 8 Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 1 Air Force, 5:15 p.m.
Before you start thinking about disqualifying Air Force from contention because of the narrow win over No. 16 Bridgewater State – the closest first-round win by a top seed since the bracket expanded to 16 teams in 2010 – the previous record for closest win by a top seed was five goals, and it happened three times. Two of the three eventually won the title and the third made the finals.

Where the potential problem for Air Force lies is their depth. And instead of running out twos and threes like the other three top seeds in D-II, the Falcons had to keep their top guys out there longer than they wanted and pull their all-conference goalie. Northwest Nazarene isn’t a particularly deep team either and they had a battle with Charlotte up until the fourth quarter. I sense this one could be sloppy.

No. 10 Kennesaw State vs. No. 2 St. Thomas, 5:15 p.m.
St. Thomas took a punch from Missouri State, having to settle for a six-all tie after 15 minutes, but then the standard methodical Tommies approach kicked in and carried the day. Kennesaw State looked poised in the win over San Marcos, even shaking off a between-quarter stick penalty in the second half. They’ll have to keep that composure against a St. Thomas team that is rested and ready.

No. 6 Georgia Tech vs. No. 14 Utah Valley, 7:45 p.m.
Don’t let the seeds fool you in this one: the Wolverines would probably be favored in Vegas. With Georgia Tech having to outscore teams this year, it puts a lot of pressure on every possession. As they showed against Chapman, UVU can lock up some pretty dynamic offenses. Utah Valley’s challenge has been scoring, which is strange considering the offensive talent they have. Each team has an advantage on one side of the field. Whoever can show efficiency on the other will win.

No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 4 Liberty, 7:45 p.m.
If not for UVU, the Sun Devils would be the darlings of the quarterfinals and now they’ll try to sweep out the two top teams from the ALC. Easier said than done. While perhaps not as talented as last year, the Flames have a narrower focus this spring from my perspective. Perhaps it was getting throttled in last year’s semifinals that changed the approach. This will be an outstanding game with the specialist determining the winner.

No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 Grand Valley State, 8 p.m.
The Lakers looked frightening against Montana, scoring at will and locking down the Grizzlies. It took a while for FAU to get separation from UCSD, but it finally got to where it needed to go. The Owls will have to match GVSU’s defensive intensity, because goals are not going to come easy.

No. 5 Rhode Island vs. No. 4 Montana State, 8 p.m.
This is a big quarterfinal for both programs. Last year, each got bumrushed in the quarters in contests that weren’t terribly competitive. Taking care of business in the first round allows both URI and Montana State to enter the game with a relatively level playing field in terms of rest. The Rams Keegan Reily and Bobcats Jonathan Serrell are two of best attackman in the country. This will be a fun watch, and it wouldn’t surprise me if extra time was needed.